Top Aide to Sen. Alexander is Arrested for Child Porn

The chief of staff for Sen. Lamar Alexander (R., Tenn.) was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of possessing and distributing child pornography, a Justice Department spokesman said.

The Washington, D.C., home of Ryan Loskarn was searched Wednesday morning by postal inspectors, who often conduct child pornography investigations. Video from local TV station WJLA showed him being led from his home in handcuffs. The Justice Department spokesman said he was being held in custody and is expected to appear in court on Thursday.

Mr. Loskarn, a longtime Capitol Hill aide, was named Mr. Alexander’s chief of staff in 2012. The 35-year-old previously worked for the U.S. Senate Republican Conference and Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, according to his LinkedIn page.

Mr. Loskarn couldn’t be reached for comment.

Mr. Alexander’s office said Mr. Loskarn had been suspended without pay and named David Cleary, the senator’s legislative director, chief of staff to replace Mr. Loskarn. “The courts will judge Mr. Loskarn’s guilt or innocence, but under these circumstances, he cannot continue to fulfill his duties as chief of staff of this office,” Mr. Alexander said in a written statement. “I am stunned, surprised and disappointed by what I have learned.”

Mr. Alexander, a former Tennessee governor who is running for a third term in the Senate next year, faces a challenge for the Republican nomination from Joe Carr, a state representative who has been backed by some tea party groups. Mr. Carr had no comment on today’s announcement.

The only Democrat in the Senate race so far is Larry Crim. His campaign did not return calls for comment.

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